Position in chronology
SAA 13 031. Cultic Dues Not Delivered (ABL 0532)
Translation · reference
High confidence(1) To the king, my lord: your servant, Nadin-Aššur. Good health to the king, my lord. (4) As of now, no one is bringing in the first fruits of your land or the one-fifth tax from Barhalzi. I sold your servants in the merchant house, carried away the one-fifth tax, and performed it (the offering). The king should ask the scribes of the governor of Barhalzi as follows: "Why didn't you give the one-fifth tax to Aššur?" Moreover, the king should bear in mind that they are on strike at the expense of your gods. [...] (r 1) If the king does not punish one scribe, [the others] will not get scared.…
Source: Cole, S.W. & Machinist, P. 1998. Letters from Priests to the Kings Esarhaddon and Assurbanipal. SAA 13. Helsinki: Helsinki University Press. https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/saao/saa13/P334363/
Why it matters
Transliteration
a-na LUGAL EN-ia / ARAD-ka mSUM-na—aš-šur / <lu> DI-mu a-na LUGAL be-lí-ia / an-nu-rig SAG-MEŠ / ša KUR-ka ḫa-mu-su / šá URU.bar-ḫal-zi mi-mi-ni / la-a na-ṣa ARAD-MEŠ-ka / ina É LÚv.DAM.QAR a-ti-din / ḫa-mu-su a-ta-ṣa e-ta-ba-áš / LÚv.A.BA-MEŠ* ša LÚv.EN.NAM / ša URU.bar-ḫal-zi LUGAL / li-šá-⸢al*⸣-šú-nu / ma-a a-ta-a ḫa-mu-su / a-na daš-šur la ta-di-na / ma-a LUGAL lu-u ḫa-sis / a-ki-i ba-aṭ-lu /…
Scholarly note
Letter from a temple priest or ritual official to Esarhaddon or Ashurbanipal, edited by Steven Cole & Peter Machinist (SAA 13, 1998). ORACC text P334363.
Attribution
Image: BM — (British Museum, London, UK) — from Nineveh (mod. Kuyunjik) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (cdli.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/artifacts, P334363). source
Translation excerpted from Cole, S.W. & Machinist, P. 1998. Letters from Priests to the Kings Esarhaddon and Assurbanipal. SAA 13. Helsinki: Helsinki University Press. https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/saao/saa13/P334363/.
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